Felting needle



Emma M, WU E, FQSTER 2,495,92

FELTING NEEDLE Filed Jan. 50, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jnven$or 52150 2 BZ5539? y WU E. P. FOSTER 9 FELTING NEEDLE Filed Jan..50, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 [mi/ n w? Fdaon j? Fos'r.

Patented Jan. 31, 1950 SATES rarsnr QFFICE 11 Claims.

My present invention relates to an improvement in felting needles.

In my Patent No. 2,349,086, dated May 16, 1944, I have disclosed afelting needle having a spur or barb in the body portion thereof havinga material engaging surface of considerable or appreciable width at itsouter edge and of generally quadrangular outline. Such a working surfacefor the spur or barb provides for substantially increasing the eficiencyof a felting needle since the Width of the outer edge preventsconsiderable slippage of fibers being interlaced and with thesubstantial area of the working surface increasing the capacity of thespur over the prior known form of barbs or spurs.

As above indicated felting needles are used in felting machines which,as is known, are employed for compacting loose fibrous materials such asWool, hair and fur or a combination of these or other like materials.Felting machines in use today comprise a needle mounting plate forsupporting a plurality of felting needles which plate is mounted forvertical reciprocatory movement above an endless horizontal conveyorupon which the material to be compacted is carried below thereciprocating plate. The barbs or spurs of the needles carried by theplate are formed with pointed ends so that upon the downward movement ofthe plate the needles penetrate the fibrous mass with the barbs or spursserving to engage and interlace the fibrous material on the conveyor andwith the barbs being formed to free themselves of the material uponupward movement of the plate. The needles may be secured in any suitablemanner in the needle plate. The usual practice is to form the plate oftwo members with one member forming a base and having a plurality ofopenings through which the needles extend. The needles opposite thepointed ends thereof are formed with bent over ends which rest upon theupper surface of the base member with these ends of the needles thenbeing secured in place by clamping the other member of the plate to thebase member. By controlling the speed of the conveyor and thereciprocating plate the degree of movement of the needles in and out ofthe material as it is carried along by the conveyor below may becontrolled to compact the material, within limits to the desired degree.

My present invention is concerned primarily with an improved spur havinga working surface of the character of my above mentioned patent. In thatpatent there is disclosed a spur formed in the body portion of a needleb y generally downwardly directed parallel side walls and an end wallextending transversely of the body and intersecting the side walls withthe end wall forming a substantially quadrangular working surface forthe spur. As disclosed in that patent such a spur for a felting needlepreferably is formed by removing material from cylindrical stock to formthe pair of lengthwise extending side walls to provide in effect a ribextending lengthwise of the body portion of the needle. Thereafter theend wall of the spur is formed by removing material transversely of therib which end wall intersects the parallel side walls and with therecess thus formed in the rib providing for access of fibers to theworking surface of the spur defined by the end wall.

As above noted in making felting needles in accordance with the methodof my above patent it is preferable to use substantially cylindricalstock so that suflicient material remains after removal of the materialto define a rib in which the spur is formed to provide adequatemechanical strength for the needle.

My instant invention contemplates the provision of an improved form ofspur or barb having the quadrangular working surface of my earlierpatent but which may be of greater area and in which the barb or spur isformed of substantially more material so that it is of greaterefiiciency and longer life.

Further, my present invention in another em bodiment thereof isconcerned with a felting needle having a spur in which the outer edge ofthe working surface is formed with a longit'udinally extending lip whichserves in the operation of the needle to engage and prevent fibers beinginterlaced from slipping off of the spur.

Still further, and perhaps most importantly, my invention contemplatesthe making of felting needles in a manner whereby the projection of thespur with respect to a corner edge in which the recess and spur areformed may be controlled 1. e., in the formation of a spur or barb by mypresent invention the position of the outer lengthwise extending walldefining the spur or barb may be caused to be disposed in apredetermined relation with respect to the corner edge of the needlebody in which the spur or barb is formed. For example, if desired, theouter working edge can within predetermined limits be disposed to extendany desired distance from the corner edge of the felting needle body.

According to my present invention I propose to form one or more spurs orbarbs in the body portion of a felting needle with the body portionpreferably being of substantially polygonal cross-section to providecorner edges extending lengthwise of the needle in which the spurs orbarbs are formed. It is conventional in the art today to make a feltingneedle from substantially cylindrical stock with that portion of thestock which is to form the body portion of the needle being swaged as,for example, to form it of substantially triangular cross-section toprovide corner edges in which the barbs or spurs may be formed.

It is old in the art to form barbs in such a body portion by strikingthe edges thereof with a barbing knife formed similar in shape to achisel. In using such a knife a substantially V-shaped recess is formedin the edge of the body portion with material being displaced to form aprojecting barb above the recess and transversely of the sides of therecess. By the use of such a barbing knife no control of the displacedmaterial to predetermine the position of the outer edge of the barb withrespect to the corner edge of the needle body is possible. Further, theprojecting barb thus formed consists of only a relatively small portionof the displaced material and wears away rapidly after a short period ofuse.

It is an object of my invention to provide a felting needle having abarb or spur projecting laterally outwardly of the body portion of theneedle and in which the outer lengthwise extending wall or outer edge ofthe working surface of the barb or spur is disposed in a predeterminedrelation with respect to the plane of the body portion of the needle inwhich the barb or spur is formed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a felting needle having abarb or spur formed in the body portion thereof in which the materialdisplaced to form a notch or recess below the barb is utilized toprovide a larger barb comprising substantially all of the displacedmaterial so that it is more efficient in operation and not subject torapid wearing away.

Another object of my invention is to provide a spur or barb as lastaforesaid in which the working surface thereof is of substantiallyquadrangular outline.

Another object of my invention is to provide a spur or barb having asurface of substantially quadrangular outline and in which a lip extendslongitudinally of the outer edge of the spur or barb in a positionoverlying the recess above which the spur or barb is disposed.

The above and other objects and advantages of my invention will appearfrom the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of myinvention.

Now, in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the method ofmaking and utilizing felting needles in accordance with the principlesof my present invention I shall describe in connection with accompanyingdrawing a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawing;

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a felting needle of my presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged perspective view of a portion of the bodyof the felting needle of Figure 1 illustrating the barb or spur of mypresent invention;

Figure 3 is a detail horizontal sectional View taken substantially onthe line 3-3 of Figure 1 looking in a direction indicated by the arrows;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view illustrating the manner in which abarb of Figures 2 and 3 is formed in the body portion of a feltingneedle.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating another embodimentof my invention in which a longitudinally downwardly extending lip isdisposed at the outer transversely extending edge of the spur or barband lying above the notch or recess in the body portion of the needleproviding access of fibers to the spur or barb;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showin the plurality of spursor barbs like the spur or barb of Figure 5; and

Figure '7 is a side elevational view illustrating the manner in whichthe barbs or spurs of Figures 5 and 6 are formed in the body portions ofa felting needle.

Referring now to the drawing I have shown in Figure 1 a felting needle 5constructed in accordance with my invention which comprises a bodyportion 6, and a shank portion I. The lower end of the body portion 6 ispointed as at 8 to facilitate penetration of fibrous material to becompacted in the manner above related. fhe upper end portion of theneedle may be bent substantially at right angles to the shank portion Ito provide a securing element or car 9 to be clamped between a basemember and clamping member of a needle plate as previously described.Also as previously related such a needle plate is adapted to support aplurality of felting needles such as that shown in Figure 1 which, inthe reciprocation of the plate in the felting machine, effects theinterlacing and compacting of loose fibrous materials.

The felting needles of my instant invention may be made of any suitablestock having the necessary mechanical strength as for example steelwire. In making up the needles of my present invention preferablyoriginally round steel wire stock is used from which a suitable lengthis cut to form a needle with the portion thereof which is to become thebody of the needle being appropriately swaged to form it of triangularcross section. The body portion may then be pointed at its end with theother end of the shank being bent to form the securing element as abovenoted. The shank portion 5 is not disturbed and remains of round crosssection and which portion together with the securing element providesfor mounting of the needle in a needle plate as previously described.

It is preferable in practicing my present invention to provide a feltingneedle having a body portion of polygonal cross section such as that ofconventional triangular cross section providing a plurality of corneredges I0 as illustrated in the fragmentary portion of the body of theneedle shown in Figure 2.

Referring now to Figure 2 it will be observed that a corner edge of Illof the body portion is preferably slightly rounded and that a portion ofthe material in the corner edge is displaced in the forming of the notchII is shaped to form a spur or barb I 2 above the notch II projectinglaterally of the body portion and which spur or barb as will be clearfrom Figures 2 and 3 is formed with a substantially quadrangular endwall I3 defining the working surface of the spur or barb. The outerlengthwise extending wall I5 defining the limit of the lateralprojection of the barb and outer edge I4 of the working surface formedby end wall I3 of the barb I 2 shown in Figure 3 project substantiallybeyond the corner edge I 0 of the body portion in a position where theouter edge I 4 may readily engage and interlace loose fibrous material.As shown in the figure last noted, the wall l5 lies in a plane disposedlateraly outwardly of the surface of the body portion of the needle inwhich the barb I2 is formed, and substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the needle. However, as will be described later,the position of the wall 15 and edge l4 may be otherwise disposed withrespect to the plane of the corner edge ll of the felting needle asdesired. Also, it will be observed that the barb I2 is of a Widthsubstantially in excess of the width of the rounded corner edge It.

The barb i2 is further defined by side walls i6l6 which aresubstantially in parallel relation for a substantial distance upward ofthe end wall l3 and then taper inwardly and merge together with theupper end of the outer wall l5 into the rounded corner edge l upwardlyof the end wall l3 of the spur.

The material displaced in forming the notch II as will be clear fromFigure 2 is substantially caused to be displaced upwardly of the needlebody and transversely into the spur l2 without there being anysubstantial transverse displacement of the metal at the notch or recessas sidewise of the diagonally inwardly directed surface or wall l8 whichtogether with the end wall 13 define the notch II. The material thusdisplaced in the corner edge I!) of the needle body to form the V-shapednotch II is substantially all caused to be moved generally upwardly ofthe pointed end of the needle to form the spur or barb 2 with asubstantially quadrangular working end wall [3 which is of substantiallygreater width than the rounded corner edge In and with the outer edge Idof the end wall l3 projecting in the form shown in Figure 2 beyond therounded corner edge ill in a position where it may readily engage fibersto be interlaced. Substantially all of the material thus displaced informing of the notch I I is utilized in the formation of the barb orspur l2 being of substantial depth along the parallel portions of sidewalls l6|6 in a lengthwise direction of the body portion of the needleto provide a long wearing as well as an efiicient fiber engaging surfacefor the spur or barb.

It will be understood that the several rounded corner edges ID of thebody portion of a needle each may be provided with one or more of thebarbs l2 and notches l l of the construction above described in detailin connection with Figures 2 and 3 and as shown in the latter and inFigure 1 so that upon a single reciprocation of the felting needle alarge number of fibers are caused to be engaged and interlaced.

Referring now to Figure 4 I have shown a body portion of the feltingneedle of my present invention disposed horizontally and illustrating abarbing die 20 of a form for forming the notch H and barb l2 in a corneredge In of the body portion of a felting'needle. It will be observedthat the barbing tool or die 20 is shown in the position it occupiesupon completion of the spur l2. The barbing die 28 may be mounted in anysuitable clamp or holding device adjacent its upper end for moving thedie substantially vertically toward and away from the body portion of aneedle with such mounting preferably being of a character to provide forslight longitudinal movement lengthwise of the needle in a directiontoward the spur or barb being formed. It will be observed that the die20 as viewed in profile in Figure 4 comprises a first surface 22 forforming the wall 18 disposed at an angle of approximately 28 degrees tothe horizontal end which together with a wall 23 forms a chisel-likeintersection. 25 with the wall 23 being disposed at about an angle of 50degrees with respect to the wall 22. The walls 22 and 23, it will beobserved, are adapted to form the substantially V-shaped notches H inthe body of the felting needle. A substantially horizontal extendingwall 26 extends outwardly from the upper inner end of the wall 23 withthe walls 26 and 23 providing a notch or recess which serves to controlthe displaced metal in the formation of the spur or barb I2 and with thewall 26 controlling the position of the outer lengthwise wall [5 of thespur or barb with respect to the corner edge Hi.

It will be understood that the above angular relation of the severalwalls of the die 2|] may be varied if desired but by forming the die insuch manner a satisfactory spur of my invention may be readily formed.Also, in that die the wall 26 was of a length of 0.1" and the wall 23was of a length of 0.18. It will be observed from these dimensions thatthe spurs and notches are of small size with the showing in the drawingbeing greatly enlarged to clearly illustrate one suitable form of diewith which my present invention may be practiced. As above indicated thebarbing die at its upper end is preferably mounted in a slightlyresilient mounting bracket means so that upon the substantially verticaldownward movement of the die as indicated by the arrow 30 the edgeformed by the intersection of the surface or wall 22 and the wall 23cuts into the corner edge ID of the felting needle and in a senseeffects the displacement of the metal from the notch lengthwise of theneedle without there being any substantial displacement of metaltransversely of the wall iii of the notch or downwardly of the bodyportion of the needle as viewed in Figure 4. The flow of the displacedmaterial is confined in the notch formed by the wall 23 and thehorizontally extending wall 26 to form the spur l2 of Figure 2.

The barbing die 20 ma be made of any convenient width so that as thecorner edges of the several walls thereof become worn, the die or theneedle stock, or both, may be shifted transversely with respect to eachother to present new cutting and forming edges.

I have found that by using a barbing die 20 such as that above describedin connection with Figure 4 that the spurs [2 formed therewith compriseabout two-thirds more material than spurs of present day needles formedwith the conventional form of barbing knives. The barbing knives of theprior art usually comprise a single chisel like edge which are caused tobe moved at right angles into the body of the needle which movementcauses considerable of the material displaced to form the notch to movetransversely of the notch rather than into the spur or barb above thenotch. Further, these prior barbing knives are not formed with a walllike the wall 26 of die 20 to control the flow of the displaced materialinto the barb. As above stated, the use of a barbing die such as the die20 that although the die is moved substantially at right angles into thecorner edge it of the body of the felting needle a very limitedresilient mounting of the tool at its upper end effects a slightlygenerally lengthwise movement of the outer end of the die to effect thedisplacement of substantially all of the material upwardly of the needleto form by reason of the arrangement of walls 22, 23 and 25 a spur ofthe character indicated above the notch thus formed. It will be observedthat the wall 26 determines the position of the outer wall I and outeredge [4 of the working surface 13 of the barb with respect to the planeof corner edge it of the body portion of the needle so that byappropriate spacing of the end wall 26 from the intersecting edge formedby the walls 22 and 23, substantially any desired relation of the outerwall l5 and corner edge I l of the spur with respect to a corner edgemay be provided. For example, if desired, the outer wall l5 and corneredge l4 could be readily formed to lie substantially flush with thecorner edge of the needle body.

Referring now to Figures 5 through '7 I have shown a modified form ofneedle of my present invention with the primed reference numerals ofthese figures indicating like or similar elements or steps in the methodas described in connection with embodiment of Figures 1 through l and towhich reference may be had.

The needle shown in Figures 5 through 7 con-- forms in all respects tothe needle first described except that in this embodiment of theinvention the barb or spur i2 is formed with an integral lip 33 at theouter edge of the working surface l3. The lip 33 as is apparent iseffective to engage fibers being interlaced and prevent them fromslipping off of the spur 32. The inner surface of the lip 33 is definedby a short wall 35 forming an inner wall of the barb extending at anangle to the wall I3 of the recess, as best shown in Figure 6. Therecess in the body portion of the needle is thus defined by the twoWalls 53' and I8 extending inwardly toward the longitudinal axis of thebody portion and toward each other. The barb thus overhangs the outerend of the wall l3, with the wall 35 of the barb extending at an anglethereto.

Referring now to Figure 7 the longitudinally extending lip 33 is causedto be formed with an outer flattened surface of substantial lateralextent as a result of a swaging operation by providing an appropriatelyformed transversely eX- tending groove 34 at the intersection of walls23' and 26'. Also, in this form of barbing die 29' I have shown a secondangular relation of the Walls of the die with the walls 23' and i5defining an angle of 60 and with the wall 18 extending at an angle of 20to the horizontal in the position of the die shown in Figure '7. Thelatter angular relation is probably more convenient in the formation ofthe barbs or spurs for it is effective to cause a slightly greaterlongitudinal displacement of the material removed in forming the notchand also more readily facilitates the displacement of the material toform the notch. It will be understood that the above angularrelationship of the several walls with respect to each other are butillustrative for purposes of describing operative embodiments of myinvention and that such angular relationship may vary widely.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the preferredembodiments of my invention it will be understood that variousmodifications and rearrangements may be made therein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a recess inthe body portion thereof, a spur above said recess said spur having amaterial engaging surface of substantially quadrangular outline facingsaid recess with the outer edge thereof projecting beyond the peripheryof said body portion.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a bodyportion of substantially polygonal cross-section with the corner edgesthereof being rounded between adjacent pairs of the side faces of saidbody portion, a substantially V-shaped notch in one of said corneredges, a spur above said recess formed of substantially all of thematerial displaced in the forming of said notch, the end wall of saidspur facing said notch being of substantially quadrangular outline, saidspur being further characterized by a substantial portion of thedisplaced material being disposed in a lengthwise direction of theneedle from the end wall of said spur so that it is of appreciable massto provide a long Wearing material engaging surface.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a barb onthe body portion thereof, said barb projecting laterally beyond thesurface defining said body portion, and said barb having an outer wallportion defining the limit of its lateral projection beyond the surfaceof said body portion and lying substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the needle.

4.. A felting needle having an elongated body portion, a recess therein,a barb above said recess projecting laterally beyond the surface of saidbody portion and formed of material displaced in the formation of saidrecess, said recess being defined by two walls extending inwardly towardthe longitudinal axis of said body portion and toward each other, andsaid barb having the outer end thereof overhanging the outer end of oneof said walls and having an inner Wall at an angle thereto.

5. A felting needle having a body portion, a recess therein, a barbprojecting outwardly of said body portion and overhanging said recess,said barb having the outer surface thereof fiattened as a result of aswaging operation whereby to increase substantially the lateral extentthereof.

6. A felting needle having a body portion, a recess therein, a barboverhan ing said recess formed by a swaging operation to projectlaterally beyond the surface of said body portion, and said barb havingthe outer surface thereof flattened as a result of a swaging operationto reduce substantially the extent of the lateral pro- ,jection thereofbeyond the surface of said body portion.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a bodyportion of substantially triangular cross-seotion, a barb on an edge ofsaid body portion projecting laterally thereb yond, and said barb havingan outer wall portion defining the limit of its lateral projectionbeyond said edge and lying substantially parallel to the longitudinalaxis of said needle.

8. A felting needle having an elongated body portion of substantiallytriangular cross-section, a recess in an edge of said body portion, abarb on said edge above said recess projecting laterally beyond saidedge and formed of material displaced in the formation of said recess,said recess being defined by two walls extending inwardly toward thelongitudinal axis of said body portion and toward each other, and saidbarb having the outer end thereof overhanging the outer end of one ofsaid walls and having an inner wall at an angle thereto.

9. A felting needle having a body portion of substantially triangularcross-section, a recess extending inwardly of a corner edge of said bodyportion, a barb projecting outwardly of said edge and overhanging saidrecess, said barb having the outer surface thereof flattened as a resultof a swaging operation whereby to increase substantially the lateralextent thereof.

10. A felting needle having a body portion of substantially triangularcross-section, a recess extending inwardly of a corner edge of said bodyportion. a barb overhanging said recess formed by a swagin'g operationto project laterally beyond said edge, and said barb having the outersurface thereof flattened as a result of a swaging operation to reducesubstantially the extent of the lateral projection thereof beyond saidcorner edge.

11. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a recess inthe body portion thereof, and a spur above said recess formed ofmaterial displaced in the body portion to form said recess, said spurhaving an end wall of substantially quadrangular outline facing saidrecess with the outer edge of said end wall extending 10 longitudinallyof said body portion and being disposed outwardly of said body p rtion.

EDSON P. FOSTER.

REFERENCES QITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,327,416 Foster Aug. 24, 19432,349,086 Foster May 16, 1944 2,377,564 Lundgren June 5, 1945 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 6,474 Great Britain 1884 446,789 GreatBritain May 6, 1936 499,773 Great Britain Jan. 30, 1939

